Network news executive says Salahis are shopping interview about party-crash
By David Bauder, APSaturday, November 28, 2009
News exec: Dinner crashers shopping interview
NEW YORK — A television executive says the couple who crashed President Barack Obama’s first state dinner is offering to talk to broadcast networks about it for a payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the network does not publicly discuss bookings, told The Associated Press that representatives for Michaele and Tareq Salahi contacted networks to urge them to “get their bids in” for an interview. The executive says the Virginia couple was looking for a payment in the mid-six figures range.
The couple’s success in getting into the state dinner Tuesday without an invitation embarrassed the White House and Secret Service.
The woman, who was pictured at the dinner greeting both the president and Vice President Joe Biden, is a reality TV hopeful trying to get on Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of D.C.” Representatives for the Salahis did not immediately return telephone and e-mail requests for comment.
Network news divisions say they don’t pay for interviews. They have, for eagerly-sought interviews in the past, offered to pay for access to exclusive material like pictures or videos from their subjects.
Meanwhile, CNN confirmed that the Salahis had canceled an appearance they had scheduled for “Larry King Live” on Monday.
